MORE INTO ACCOUNT

Buddhism is an offshoot of Vedanta, but for me Vedanta is an offshoot of Buddhism.

I was a Buddhist in my younger years, and the Buddhist view is that there are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven and hell.  Religion is nothing more than myth and superstition.

The problem with this is that it does not allow for mysticism. Mysticism, in the eyes of Buddhism, is just more hocus-pocus.  Tibetan Buddhism is the exception.  Anyone with spiritual experience, though, particularly if they have lived a lot of years, knows that mysticism is not hocus-pocus.

There is a spiritual pull that everyone experiences in time, a natural phenomenon that leads ultimately to spiritual awakening, mysticism. The soul, this is to say, is drawn to its source, God, to give it a name, like the needle of a compass to a magnet.

The purpose of life is to find God.  However, this implies that the individual is to do something to find God, when, more accurately, there is simply the finding of God, the inevitable union of the soul with God, spiritual awakening, mysticism.

As for how quickly the inevitable finding of God occurs, this depends on a person's mix of karma, to give it a name.  The more positive the karma the more rapidly the finding occurs.  If the karma is mostly negative, it takes more lifetimes, allowing for reincarnation, for the union to take place.

Good karma is the result of doing good things, such as being compassionate and helpful to others, which move one closer to God. Bad karma comes of doing bad things, such as being selfish and cruel to others, which move one further from God.  Karma happens regardless of what a person's beliefs are or are not.

Buddhism has its merits, don't get me wrong.  I like Buddhism.  It's just that Vedanta takes more into account.